


Rescuing Winter Veil

by AMFox



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:53:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21739408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AMFox/pseuds/AMFox
Summary: This is a story I wrote some years ago while my kids were young and I included some friends' characters, some of whom appear in my other story, Odesa Silverwood.  The main character is Meshanka, my main horde toon in WOW- the rest ought to be familiar if you play WOW :-).
Comments: 7
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

Rescuing Winter Veil

By the light of the full moon, Meshanka peered over Olwyn’s shoulder armor at the Greench standing in the snowy vale before his cave. 

“I don’t know Olwyn, he looks pretty tough...” Meshie tried to keep the trembling that shook her body and her pointy elven ears from registering in her voice.

“He’s a yeti, mon. We jus’ kill ‘im.” Tia murmured. She and Emi exchanged looks behind Meshie and Olwyn. The trolls nodded in agreement.

“Ya mon, Nightmare just needs some yeti-meat snackies.” Nightmare was Emi’s black hunting lion.

Wyn looked back over her shoulder, her eerie blue eyes glowed as she blew cold misty air in frosty jets at the group behind her. Being a Tauren Deathknight, Olwyn was not afraid of much in the world of Azeroth. She stood a full foot taller than Meshie. Tia and Emi were trolls, and taller than Olwyn when they chose to stand up. The two trolls hailed from the Darkspear Isles in the south of Durotar.

“We could send a message for help to Gulti and Neeli, I could send a messenger pigeon...” Meshie was stalling and trying not to be obvious about it.

“They opened that vegetarian restaurant in Thunder Bluff, they’ve been very busy lately. Plus, they’re across the sea from us now, no pigeon is going to fly fast enough for them to help us tonight.” Olwyn stomped a hoof, gave Meshie a slow blink and turned back to face her foe. “The children in the orphanage need the toys and gifts the Greench has stolen, and it is my solemn duty to fulfill that quest here. The Greench must die.”

The Greench could be defined as a yeti, if vastly overgrown for one of his race. He had greenish fur and massive horns curling out of his head. Gaily wrapped Winter Veil gifts were tied, dangling from each horn like earrings. His massive muscled arms were supported on the ground by his knuckles. Even as he sat on his haunches, he towered ten feet off the snow-covered ground in front of his cave.

Kai arrived on her raptor mount, from around the back of the hill where Meshie and the others were hiding behind Olwyn. 

“Am I late mon?” Asked the troll shaman as she jumped off, giving her mount a smack on the rump to send him over to the rest, grouped downhill and away from the Greench.

“A little,” murmured Olwyn, “but we have not decided the best attack yet, and we are waiting for Nrublous and Shizaru.”

“I am here.” Nru’s dry voice came from above. The undead Warlock was sitting in the tree overhead, “I have been waiting to see what you would do.”

Startled, Meshie looked up. 

Olwyn only shot him a mildly annoyed glance. 

A shadow passed through the moonlight overhead, and Zaru, in the form of a dragon arrived with a thump. Meshie’s gaze snapped back to the Greench to see if he had noticed their gathering yet. So far, he gave no indication he’d noticed them, but he was turning his head and sniffing the air in the moonlight.

Zaru reshaped himself back into the troll shaman he was and Meshie suddenly felt like the shortest person on Azeroth. Now that the bulk of her friends had assembled, her confidence rose a notch. A deathknight, two hunters, two shamans, and a warlock. With Meshie as the priest to heal them, they would make short work of the Greench.

Meshie took a few deep breaths of the frigid night air, shivering both from cold and nerves for the battle to come. 

“Very well, I think we now have all the help we can reasonably expect, Meshie.” Olwyn’s big hand weighed down Meshie’s shoulder momentarily. Elves were tougher than they looked, but Meshie nearly sat down under the pressure of her friend’s gentle (for a Deathknight) pat. “I have been told he throws... things... at his opponents.” Wyn’s voice rumbled in what passed for a whisper for one of her race. 

“Then those of us who cast magic should remain far enough back to stay out of his way.” Meshie looked at the Shamans and Warlock significantly, “Those of you who can hit him directly, hit him hard and quickly.” 

Olwyn marched toward the monster before the cave, and the hunters sent their pets in behind her, a black lion and an orange and black tigress slinking in her footsteps. Meshie prepared a spell of healing and the two shamans set their power totems with softly glowing light a few paces to either side of Meshie’s position. 

Olwyn’s war cry echoed off the cliff face, and the combat began. Meshie could see Olwyn’s form like a black shadow with blue glowing eyes against the mass of the monster before them all, and the first blow landed on the Greench’s shoulder. He roared his pain and displeasure and swung a wild arm at his tormenter, but suddenly the two big cats came behind the beast to worry at his ankles, fearlessly without regard to their own safety.

Meshie unleashed the first of her healing spells and it raced in a beam of gold light to Olwyn, and expanded out to heal both big cats. In the meantime, Nru had cast a rain of fire bolts from the sky which caught little fires on the yeti’s fur and enraged him further. Both Zaru and Kai were casting spells of their own, which caused more howls of fury from the Greench.

Suddenly the Greench whirled, and pulled something out of his cave, a Winter Veil tree, lighted with fireflies. He threw it, and it landed miraculously upright, beside Meshie. Distracted from the battle, Meshie gazed at the beautiful tree, blazing with the light of the agitated fireflies. So pretty! It was exactly the sort of thing she and her friends were here to reclaim for the orphans in Orgrimmar. The light bathed her position, and suddenly she realized it actually made her visible to the Greench. He had correctly deduced that she was keeping Olwyn and all his other attackers alive, and set the tree there to pin-point where she was. 

Uh-oh! As soon as Meshie realized what he was about to do, she tried to move, but he was fast. The Greench threw Olwyn aside and then leapt at Meshie. Meshie cast a desperate heal spell at Olwyn, meanwhile Zaru and Kai were tossing spells of their own at the Greench. He still landed on Meshie, full force, but Olwyn had scrambled up and come across the snow-covered vale to leap on his back.

Enveloped in stinking fur and squashed flat, Meshie let out an instinctive psychic scream which penetrated the Greench’s mind and made him run from her in unreasoning fear, with Olwyn clinging to his back and pounding him with her free hammer arm. Zaru retook dragon form and flew after the fleeing Greench, both hunting cats running after the over-sized yeti, and both Hunters firing arrows at the abominable opponent. Olwyn jumped free when she felt the wind from Zaru’s wings, and the shaman landed on the Greench’s shoulders and drove him into the snow at the base of a tree. The Greench drew a last agonized breath and collapsed for good.

Olwyn cheered in victory, and the pounding of hooves came up the vale as Zany arrived, late. “What did I miss, mon? I was waylaid by leper gnomes on my way.”

Meshie hauled herself to her feet, dusting off her robes. “You missed the fight Zany, but you can help us carry all these toys back to Orgrimmar. The orphans will be so happy to get these tomorrow.”

Zany was a lanky troll Deathknight, who had served with Olwyn in the times before their return to life and light. His glowing eyes flashed as he nodded, turning to follow Olwyn and the rest back to the Greench’s cave.

Meshie couldn’t see all the mud and forest muck that undoubtedly covered her from the tips of her pointy elven ears to her feet, but she could feel it. Staggering after the rest, she wondered if she could ever get the stink of yeti fur out of her nose or clothes. 

The rest had gone into the cave, murmuring over sacks of toys and treats the Greench had stolen. More Winter Veil trees were crammed into the back of the cave too. A few paces behind the rest, Meshie heard the light clop of hooves and the snort of a deer to her right. She cast a light spell, and in a pen beside the cave, stood a lone reindeer. She recognized it as the pet of the orphans in Orgrimmar! 

“I have found Metzen! We must bring him home too.”

“I’ll carry him home, mon.” Zaru said.

“Just promise me you won’t eat him....” Meshie let the thought trail off.

“I will give you a ride, and you can remind me not to.” Zaru’s dragon voice was loud and rumbly. He waited patiently while the others piled sacks of toys on his back. 

Olwyn and the rest had rounded up their mounts, and Zany led Meshie’s hawkstrider for her, and they all made their way, following Zaru with Meshie.

Tiny elven Meshie perched on a toy sack near Zaru’s head, whispering to him not to eat Mezten every few minutes for the entire freezing flight back to Orgrimmar.

The sun was rising in the east as the adventurers finally slogged in through the front gates of Orgrimmar. The city was carved out of a winding canyon in a naturally defensible location. The orphans were still asleep, thank goodness. 

Zaru landed beside the rest as they trailed in, and set the frightened reindeer in his home pen beside the Orphan home. Meshie climbed down stiffly, the mud had dried, frozen into her robes. Olwyn and Tia climbed up Zaru’s shoulder and helped pass sacks of toys and treats down to Emi, who passed the sacks to Kai, who in turn handed them to Zany, who set them in a stack. Once the Zaru was unloaded, he grabbed the biggest of the Winter Veil trees they had managed to save, and stood it upright behind the stack before turning back into his normal self. 

“I told you I heard something!” Burnetta’s voice piped up from a window in the orphanage, and her cousin Bernex stuck her head out beside Burnetta’s.

“Hurray!” 

“I told you Winter Veil would still happen!” shouted Hymlik, Burnetta’s brother.

Bernex’s glad, out-door voice woke all the other orphans and soon the street in front of the orphanage was full of excited children. Burnetta, Bernex and Hymlik were Tauren kids, but there was a mix of orc, troll and elven children too.

Meshie watched a rare smile crack Olwyn’s face as the gift wrappers went flying. 

“This,” she said to her beaming friends, “is exactly why I am willing to face the monsters of the world!”

“Happy Winter Veil, everyone!” said Meshie, a call that was echoed back from every window in Orgrimmar.


	2. Winter Traditions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If it's not the Greench, what is it?

(Rescuing Winter Veil stories)- this one takes place a year (sort of) after _Rescuing Winter Veil_ though the first was written some years ago, I'm kind of fitting it in as a year before this one- and also- these stories are tangentially connected to my _Odesa Silverwood_ (nearly novel length) story that can be found on AO3.

AMFox

Winter Traditions

“We’re under bombardment!” Kovari was yelling, as he tossed his next missile over their pathetically low snow wall. Odesa tossed her snowball at the same time and answered his grin with one of her own. A rain of snowballs and giggles came down on the pair, in return from the other side of the orphans’ much taller and substantial snow wall ten paces away.

On a break for Winter Veil celebrations and between missions for their guilds, Odesa and Kovari had come with the orphans of Orgrimmar on their visit to Everlook.

In the heart of snowy Winterspring, and run by the Steamwheedle Cartel, Everlook was mostly a trading town. The cartel hosted (for a _tiny_ fee) a center for crafting and trade, and over the years now, a Winter Veil ice sculpting competition. The orphanage in Orgrimar had put a request to Great Father Winter last year, to be able to see it, and he came through with tickets to the event. The kids were ecstatic when the whole party had arrived this morning. Everlook was decked out in all manner of Winter Veil decorations, the ice sculptures up for consideration were placed around the central plaza on display. The judges would have plenty of time to consider which were the best at the contest tomorrow. Oddly, both the Horde and the Alliance celebrated the Winter Veil holiday with lighted and decorated trees, and lamps strung on wires on the buildings.

Ordinarily the town had sooty piles of snow pushed back from workshop doorways and bustling craftsmen and women determinedly going from shop to shop, drumming up business or picking up orders and just doing the sort of activities one might expect from a hub of trade and production of goods.

Nru had come along too, muttering that the orphans would benefit from learning to look for winter herbs under the snow, and by the way, Odesa would too. She wasn’t so sure she wanted to spend all her holiday time hunting for herbs. At least on this first day in Everlook, he hadn’t insisted she go do so.

Nru’s imp, Jubnam had been excused from his master’s side, as Nru went to confer with the local alchemists in the town center. The imp had taken the orphan’s side in the snowball fight, just outside the gates of Everlook. His missiles arrived as slightly slushy wet masses to be avoided.

Huddled behind their little wall of snow, “Team Green,” as the kids had dubbed Kovari, Odesa and Troo (an orc huntress who had joined the guild after their recent adventures in Desolace) where hatching a plan. Troo had come on holiday with them as part of the group watching the kids. Meshie had come too, but had gone on into the town to secure their lodgings at the inn.

“OK, I think if we’re gonna make our move on ‘Team Blue,’ it’d better be now,” Odesa told her team mates.

The huntress put a finger to her lips, and was even now sneaking up behind the kids’ fort with an armload of snowballs and a plan to either re-supply them or sneak attack them from the back, Odesa wasn’t sure which.

In spite of the chill, she couldn’t help but grin. The sun was bright in a clear blue sky, though the horizon held billowy gray clouds that promised more snow later. The wall she and Kovari hid behind was pitifully low, the kids refused to build it higher. The children had proposed the game: the adults build a snowy wall for the kids to hide behind to lob their snowballs, and the kids would build the wall for the grown-ups to hide behind. It was pretty clear the kids had the advantage, and they weren’t hesitant to use it.

Odessa poked her head over the top of their wall, her hands and knees beginning to get cold, but she put a mitten-covered palm out to Kovari for a new snowball and he dropped one in her hand, in the process of trying to make more as fast as he could. One of the orphans, Bernex had popped a head over the top, and Odesa aimed at her, beaning her between the horns.

“They’re still in the fight!” Squealed the young tauren girl, ducking down low again. The rogue and warrior could hear Bernex stage-whispering new plans to Burnetta, Hymlik, Dornaa, Keapo, and Jubnam. A collection of young fists appeared over the top of their wall, hurling snow-ball after snow ball on Odesa and Kovari cuddled behind their minimal barrier, laughing and trying to keep the bursting snow balls from sending freezing cold bits down their jacket collars.

“I wonder if Troo just resupplied them with snowballs instead of a rear ambush like we discussed. . .” Odesa said into Kovari’s cheek, their heads so close together under their arms. Troo’s howling, loud laugh confirmed she’d gone to the enemy side.

“I’m starting to feel ganged-up on,” Kovari remarked.

A very slushy wet glob of snow got through the defenses and pegged Odesa in the back of the neck, sending freezing cold droplets of icy water down her spine and sloshed up into her hair. A bucket-load of snow made its way over the top of their barrier and came down like a miniature snowstorm over both blood elves.

“I believe they have won,” Kovari muttered, “I am without any more snowballs and there’s actually not enough snow close enough to hand to make more.”

“We surrender!” Odesa called, standing and trying to shake snow out of her shirt before it melted. As she rose, though, a final storm of giggling and handfuls of snow were tossed their way. “Ok, ok, really, we surrender.”

The clouds overhead had moved a bit closer, the threat of snow was imminent.

“All right, I think we have taught them a lesson,” Troo’s breath came out laughingly and steamily as it hit the cold air, “I’m betting the hostess at the inn has hot cocoa for us.” 

“Yeah!” and a cheer went up from the kids, as they bolted to the front gates, Troo following them up, turned to look for the two blood elves. Kovari was brushing snow out of Odesa’s eyebrows, and she was dusting off his shoulders. 

“We’ll see you later?” asked Troo, but getting no response because now they were kissing, she turned with a roll of her eyes and a shrug, to follow the kids. “Well, I’m going to have some cocoa. Come along Squishy.” The large trilobite insect followed her, its feet breaking the crust of the snow and leaving little pock marks in its wake.

~o0o~

Odesa and Kovari made their way into the town a little while later, holding hands and giggling. They met Nru, Meshie and Troo, sitting at the long table in the inn with all the orphans, sipping cocoa and eating cookies. Her alchemy mentor had a distracted air and she asked him what was going on. With a blink of his ragged eyelids, he turned his focus to her, and kind of shook himself, the subtle sound of bone clacking on bone emanated from under his robes.

“It was something Alchemy Master Evie Whirlebrew said. Remember last year when Meshie and I went to save all the presents from the Greench in Hillsbrad?”

“Why yes, you all told me about it.” Odesa had been in rogue training with Darlia in Silvermoon at the time, and hadn’t been involved. The Greench was a large and evil yeti who had kidnapped Metzen the reindeer, and stolen all the presents and Winter Veil trees. Nru and Meshie’s party had managed to get the holiday cheer back from the Greench and return in time for the celebrations the next day last year.

“Evie and her alchemist apprentices were out collecting herbs, and sighted yetis getting close to Everlook. Normally they stay up in the Ice Thistle Hills, in a cave system up there. Everyone in town wonders what they’re doing so close to here.”

“Hmmm. Maybe we shouldn’t take the kids out looking for herbs then?” Odesa was privately pleased to have a reason not to do that part of her job for a while.

“Well, I wasn’t all that serious. I am thinking we can do a bit of that on the way home day after tomorrow. The main event ice sculpture contest is tomorrow, after all. That is more what we are here for,” Nru’s voice, gravely at all times, actually sounded warmer at the thought.

The orphans expressed excited noises and Burnetta nearly elbowed the cocoa out of her brother Hymlik’s grip, her hands waving wide, “I want the one with the big tippy pile of ice-carved presents to win!”

“I want the one of the warrior fighting a giant jormunger to win!” said Keapo, spitting cookie crumbs on the table. Dornaa giggled behind her hand and said how she’d like the one of the elekk to win. Personally, Odesa wanted the sculpture of Lor’themar Theron to win. In his ice form, the artist had captured the haughty tilt of Lord Theron’s chin just perfectly, the long glossy blond hair had been depicted with flowing carved lines, his missing eye however, was placed incorrectly. The regent-lord leader of the blood elves had lost his left eye in some long-ago battle, and the artist had made it the right eye to be the missing one. She’d smothered a laugh to see it otherwise so well done.

The rooms at the inn were nearly full. That afternoon was spent in getting the kids settled, and getting ready for the evening celebrations and bon-fire. The snow was coming down softly, but in thick curtains that promised to renew the white blanket over the town, covering the dirty piles and freshening up the dingy old snow that crusted the roofs and trees in town. The civic officials were making speeches about how great it was that the Steamwheedle Goblins had seen fit to hold this event, with a sarcastic side note that it was always overshadowed by bigger flashier events in Orgrimmar or Darnassus with only a few arts enthusiasts from either the alliance or horde patronize it. 

“But anyway, we’re all here and happy you’ve. . . .” the official, bathed in bonfire light, stopped short, crashes and falling noises came from the east side of the square, “what the. . .?”

Then with a roar, like a thousand bursts of thunder all at once, a flood of yetis came in through the breach in the wall.  
Odesa turned to Meshie, “Get the kids into the inn!”

Burnetta, Bernex and Hymlik all seemed ready to fight but Meshie used her mind cantrip to get them and the rest of the kids to the inn door. Nymn, a high-elf in blue plate armor stood by the door, and Meshie couldn’t help but admire him, he stood at the ready to repel any yetis that got close enough to hit.

Odesa let her attention leave her older sister and the kids as soon as they were safely through the inn door, and she and Kovari turned to face the invaders who were both attacking the towns folk, but also, weirdly in her opinion, surrounding the ice sculptures. The Bust of Lor’themar was already missing, and there were two yetis determinedly dragging the stack of ice-carved presents out through the hole in the wall.

She could see Nru, and Troo helping a crew of town guards to try and defend the elekk statue, but even they were getting overwhelmed, there were so many yetis! The sculpture of the warrior fighting a jormunger worm was being tugged out of its base and out from under the canvas awning that had protected it from the snow fall.

Which was all she could see before Odesa found herself struggling with a yeti in hand to hand combat; her daggers were in her room, she had not thought she’d need to be armed for an evening ceremony opening the ice sculpture festivities. Her hide-out dagger in her boot top was not easy to grab at the moment, the yeti she was fighting with had her in a sort of bear-hug. Her last glimpse of Kovari before the yeti’s fist connected with her head and knocked her out, was of him being swiped off his feet and connecting hard with a wall of the metal-smith’s workshop.

~o0o~

The morning dawned cold and clear, and Odesa woke in bed, with Kovari still unconscious beside her. She started to sit up, but groaned as her head protested the moment.

“Good! You’re up. I’ve tended your ribs, they should be fairly healed by now, and I patched up the claw marks in your back, anything else I need to be aware of?”

Her sister was far to chipper. “Your voice is killing me.”

“Shut up.” Meshie, sitting at the edge of the bed beside her, swatted her shoulder. “But is your head hurt?” 

Odesa nodded, the pain washed over her and she held still. Meshie leaned forward and quartered her sister’s head with gentle fingertips in spite of the ire on her face. 

“Ah, there it is,” Meshie found the goose egg, and began chanting a healing spell that traveled out through her finger tips, sending soothing energies that had Odesa rolling her eyes and gasping in relief. “You should be good as new after breakfast. Which will be good because the town officials have hired us to go get their ice sculptures back.”

“What?” 

“There’s still prizes to be awarded and the artists are all mad that ‘security’ on the sculptures wasn’t more thorough.” 

“It was a yeti attack. Who could have anticipated that?” Kovari had awakened, and his sleepy voice rose from the pillows on the other side of the bed.

“Well, whatever else, they’re promising us thirty gold pieces if we can get the sculptures back in time for the judging event. Nru talked them up from only fifteen gold, so now we’re committed.” 

“He bargained goblins out of gold?” Odesa was impressed.

“He mentioned something about how much damage an imp could do to metal forges and that he could command even higher-grade demons than Jubnam. The man has a . . . excuse the pun. . . dead-pan way of getting what he sees as necessary. I’m so glad he is on our side.” By this time, Meshie had gone around the bed to Kovari’s side, and she was murmuring little healing chants as Odesa sat up. Someone had put her to bed, boots and socks on the floor beside her, but still dressed, minus the leather jacket she’d been wearing against the cold last night. The back of her shirt was ripped and bloody, but dried, she could kind of see as she twisted a look over her shoulder. The slashes were healed, as her sister said. But the shirt was ruined.

“There we go,” Meshie murmured, “That should have both of you back in action after breakfast,” as she finished healing some bumps and scrapes on Kovari. “Get ready for an outing and come meet us downstairs, all right?” Meshie added on her way out the door.

“All right, we’ll be down in a little bit,” Odesa replied coming over to the side of the room where Kovari was, and where their gear was stashed on shelves under the window.

“Not too long,” Meshie eyeballed them through the gap of the not quite closed door. Stripped to the waist, Kovari leaned over and pushed the door shut with the palm of his hand. Meshie’s little surprised noise from the other side meant he’d probably hit her nose and Odesa grinned at him for the little victory in getting privacy. 

~o0o~ 

Odesa had joined Nru and Troo to inspect the gap in the town wall, and the snowed-over stampede of yeti prints leading to and from the rubble of the barrier that should be whole to protect the town. Dressed for campaigning, her leather armor was a weighty, comforting protection between her and the chill winds of Everlook. Her daggers sharpened, oiled and polished were at hand by her sides. Using her fingers, she felt for the throwing daggers tucked in her sleeves. Each had a light spider silk thread she could tug it back from her target with, so long as it didn’t get snapped, or the dagger didn’t get lodged too deep to return at her tug. She had some poisons to coat her blades with, but she hesitated to use them until she could see what she would be up against. The vials rode in a special padded bag on her belt at the small of her back. Most of the time, uncoated blades were all that was needed.

“It’s pretty obvious they went east,” Troo remarked, pointing at the trampled marks, which had been deep enough that even the new covering of snow hadn’t been able to cover them. Squishy made clicking noises and sniffed at the snow, and Jubnam was hopping, his hot body creating melty spots in the snow where ever he stopped long enough.

Towns-goblins were powering up their wagons with tank treads and driving them from the entrance to the town, around the back. The plan was to follow the adventurers and be able to carry back the ice sculptures, assuming they could be recovered from the Ice Thorn yetis.

“How long before the contest was going to start?” Meshie asked as she came up behind them, Kovari and Nymn in her wake. She was swaddled in a thick cable-knit sweater, her winter cape pulled about her for warmth.

Nru eyeballed the position of the sun, “In a few hours. Why is this person in bright blue armor coming with us?”

Troo turned and sniffed a bit, her green skin standing out against the backdrop of snow-covered trees, “He is dragonkin.” She stated flatly.  
Nymn, for his part looked taken aback, “How can you tell?” he wondered.

“I am a huntress. I have a sense for these things. Telling a person from a dragon is one of them.”

Only Odesa heard Nru mutter, “Right, then he’d better not expect a cut of our thirty gold.”

“These yetis need to know they can’t just barge in when a blue dragon is in residence.” Nymn’s voice sounded a little pompous, but Odesa was glad Kovari and she would have some more back up. Meshie and Nru would need to stay a bit back from the fray when it came to that, and Troo needed range for her arrows to be accurate, though she could and would send Squishy into close quarters.

“We’re wasting time, let’s just get on with this,” Odesa said striding forward. _Meshie sure could pick a guy. Did she expect to date this dragon?_ she mused to herself as the group strode out to follow the foot prints. The tractor wagons followed behind them. _On the other hand, he might come in handy in a fight if he takes dragon form._

It was only about forty minutes before they began to encounter yetis. Rather than take them all in close combat, Odesa crept ahead and hit most of the ones between where her group waited and the cave entrance over the head with her cudgel. It felt good to take them down silently, if non-lethally just as one of them had knocked her out. She coated one of her daggers with a sleep potion, and nicked each yeti. The additional potion would insure they didn’t wake for a few hours at least. Then she reported back to her group.

The trip up to the cave entrance part-way up the mountain went quickly as they passed all the snoozing yetis.

“Good work,” Meshie commented, reinforcing the sleep-potion with medicinal healing sleep spells, “from the marks on the ground, they dragged the sculptures in here.” She added as they passed into the cave. Nru lit and passed specially treated torches so the inky blackness was abated. The caves showed signs of yeti habitation, piles of bones and half frozen meat were scattered about, and heaps of hay and leaves looked to be bedding spots for the beasts.

A few winding tunnels in, and a few more yetis knocked out cold, and they came to an underground lake. It was frozen solid, but the ice sculptures were there. The bust of Lor’themar Theron was fused onto the top of the icy present pile, and the elekk had been jammed in between the warrior and jormunger worm so that now there were only two sculptures to worry about instead of four. Troo was nearly collapsed in silent laughter, and Odesa and Kovari had covered their mouths to keep from laughing aloud. All the members of the adventure group thought the new combinations were hilarious, but the giant yeti pacing about at the back of the frozen lake kept them from expressing it aloud. 

“Oh I should have guessed!” Nymn muttered, “It’s Icewhomp!”

“He’s as big as the Greench,” Nru and Meshie traded looks. “He’s not going to go down easy.”

“I’ll sneak behind him, and hit him with the sleep potion, and the rest of you can come in and hit him after that.” Odesa said, renewing the potion on her blade. Without waiting for conformation of her plan, she cast her shadows about herself and disappeared from view in the uncertain torchlights.  
Her allies spread out behind her and waited for her signal. Odesa’s boots slid silently along the ice in the dark, and her eyes adjusted to see the pacing monster in full. He had white fur, and huge horns. Ropes with rocks tied to them dangled like earrings from the horns, and clacked against the hard protrusions when he shook his head. He snorted and looked up from his bemused pacing as her boot snagged a ridge in the ice. She froze, and waited for him to quiet again before moving behind him.

Dagger at the ready, she got up behind his rear leg, and stabbed down through the thick white fur, and Icewhomp roared in pain and surprise. Her friends came running across the ice at that point, and combat was joined.

Kovari and Nymn, armored in plate came at the raging yeti with swords bared, trying to stab his belly. Nru sent in bolt after bolt of black and green death spells, and had ruthlessly send Jubnam in to attack the yeti’s toes.

“Can’t we just get along with him?” the little imp protested but was ignored in the bigger rush of action.

Troo had shot arrow after arrow into one of the yeti’s arms and Squishy was attacking the other foot from the imp. Icewhomp roared again, doubtlessly trying to call his unconscious minions for help. Odesa stabbed at the back of his leg again, and hoped a double dose would help to take the big beast down faster. Meshie was watching her friends for signs of injury. Fortunately, this giant yeti did not seem to have the power to lob enchanting Winter Veil trees at anyone, and she was able to cast her healing spells unhindered.

The yeti went down at last, swinging around him, bleeding from numerous injuries and finally knocked out by the sleeping potion Odesa had stabbed him with. 

“Do we need to kill him?” asked Meshie as everyone stood around panting and relieved he was down.

“Not really, without him the yetis will come after the town in earnest.” Nymn told her.

“Very well,” Meshie murmured, and approached the yeti, hands out and chanting one of her healing cantrips. Wounds scabbed over, a cut on his snout healed and suddenly he was snoring very deeply. “I’ve added a deep sleep spell, but we should hurry. Those sculptures are heavy and there’s only us to get them out of the caves.

Leaving the huge pile of white fur and horns to recover and wake later, the friends grabbed up the coils of rope they’d brought, and anchored them around the two newly combined art works to tug them out of the cave. It was sweaty work, but they got to the cave mouth to find the mechanized wagons and crews waiting to help. The crews had gotten brave with no yetis roaming around. 

Travel back to Everlook was a bit slower than getting into the Ice Thistle caves had been, but they weren’t too late for the contest.  
A crew of masons were already patching up the wall, and the kids from the orphanage were waiting with Evie Whirlebrew near the gates.

“I got them to pick a heap of Ice Cap for you, Nrublous, and mountain silversage for me,” Evie said, “then we had to have a snowball fight, which I won using my Snowmaster 9000.” The goblin added smugly. The kids all looked a bit damp around the edges, but happy. 

“So, we got the ice sculptures back, but. . .” Nru started to explain.

The orphans began laughing as they saw what was tied to the mechanized wagons. Hymlik went so far as to roll in the snow with hilarity.

“But now there’s only two?” Evie asked in dismay. 

The artists were equally upset.

“How can you judge this?” grumped the tauren who had carved the Lor’themar bust as he glared at the combo, stacked presents with the elf lord now glaring off into the sky. 

“My Elekk!” wailed the Draenei artist. The troll artist that had created the warrior and jormunger just covered his face, shaking his head. A dainty human woman was putting a concerned hand on the stack of ice presents. All the sculptures had new nicks and dings.

“Well,” the human woman began, tilting her head, “Thank you for going to the trouble to retrieve them. It’s not your fault the yetis added their own. . . touches. I’d be willing to split the prize money with you, sir,” she turned to the tauren bull, “should our combined sculpture win.”

“And I with you,”

“Us as well,” the other artists magnanimously agreed, “It’s miracle they’re back in time for the contest.”

“That’s a relief,” said Evie Whirlebrew. 

Without further ado, the combined sculptures were re-installed in the plaza, and the towns people who weren’t busy repairing the wall, came to see who would win. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, the judges can’t decide who won,” announced the town official, “But in the spirit of Winter Veil and in the first time of the history of this ice sculpture competition, the judges have decided to split the prize money evenly between the artists! Next year, we’re beefing up security.” He added in an undertone.

But the orphans were cheering, it had been a good outing for all involved. Nru shared out their reward between the adults, except for Nymn who didn’t seem to mind. He was paying too much attention to a certain auburn-haired healer to even notice he’d been shorted the finder’s fee.

~o0o~

Odesa and Kovari enjoyed mulled cider by the bonfire later that night.

“It’s been a good year,” he murmured next to her on the bench by the fire.

“It has indeed,” she agreed. Then burst out laughing, “I will never get the image of the Regent Lord’s head stuck on a bunch of presents!” 

Kovari’s voice joined in her laughter.

“To Winter Veil!” he proposed the toast with a tilt of his mug toward hers.

Their mugs clinked, “To Winter Veil indeed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've invented a side Winter Veil event that does not (but should) exist in the world of Azeroth during Winter Veil. Hungering for some civic art events, I put an Ice sculpture celebration in Winterspring and of course, had my heroes attend :-). And everything had to go wrong too;
> 
> Thank you to Troo, who's allowed me to add in her character, Nru who has continued to let me have Nrublous along for the adventures, and to my own children for letting me use their toons as the "orphans of Orgrimar" and also I borrowed Darnaa - she is an orphan NPC in the Children's week events. Evie Whirlbrew and Nymn are NPCs you can find in Everlook. 
> 
> Thank you for reading, happy holidays, how ever you like to spend them, and happy Winter Veil!
> 
> AMFox (Meshie)
> 
> PS- apologies for the run on sentences- they're getting to be a trademark with me though :-)!!

**Author's Note:**

> This story is related to Odesa Silverwood, as Meshanka Riverbreeze-Silverwood, Odesa's older sister, appears as the main character here. Messenger pigeons was kind of how I envisioned whisper chat to work in WOW, and yes, I compressed the trip home, but it's a Winter Veil miracle, don't hold up the logic to close scrutiny :-).
> 
> I hope you enjoy this little story and have happy holidays, no mater what you like to celebrate!


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